"Shut up, little dragon," the tribeman said walking towards the prone figure of Runner. "We know that you see this one as a burden. The demon will take him," he said, pointing to the head of the young half-Fae, "as a sacrifice to keep our tribe safe."
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Tessa swiftly dropped down to the ground, landing on her feet, and marched up the tribesman. "First of all, I don't take orders from you. Second of all," She got into the man's face, eyes narrowed as her pupils narrowed to slits. "There will be no sacrificing," she growled.
"We will not let this war ruin this very land we swore to protect," he said, staring at Tess with solemn eyes. "It's a necessary sacrifice. You will understand this soon enough."
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"Nope. Not gonna happen." She wasn't backing down. She stepped in between the tribesman and Runner, her tail curled around her and ready to fire the hot spikes.
"It's a shame someone with such beauty is blinded by ignorance," he said, not budging an inch. "Why do you care so much? His mere presence makes you frustrated. We've gone through your mind, young Theresa. You don't like this boy at all. Why even bother?"
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"Because I have a particular dislike for senseless killing for the sake of self-benefit. I may not like him at the moment, but I don't like you even more. So back off and let us take care of the demon the productive way." She didn't budge either.
He shook his head, almost in disappointment. "Goodbye, Ms. Theresa."
A huge blast of energy seemed to engulf Tessa, holding her in place as the tribeman scooped the limp Runner into his arms and sprinted off into the forest. The energy lasted for almost a full 30 seconds to give the man a headstart before it released her, the sound of leaves rustling the only sign anyone was there.
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Tessa roared in fury and took off after the tribesman. She still had both the man and Runner's scent. Her wings lifted her off the forest floor, flying just above the ground as she weaved in and out of trees. She silently thanked Cinthia for all of those ridiculously difficult flying lessons. She followed that invisible trail left by their scents, her predator instincts kicking in, taking over.
Even with the added weight of Runner, the man sprinted at a blinding speed, his legs churning n an incredible pace. Multiple tribesmen followed Tess from the grown, blow darts ready to fire.
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For once, Tessa wished it was night time. She would be able to run faster in her smaller dragon form than her current flying speed. Intimidation and a constant form of armor were also handy. But she had to make do with what she had.
A tangle of trees obstructed her path, so she tucked her wings and just barely slipped between the narrow gap between two trunks. She flared her wings once more and put on more speed. He might be an ass, but he's my ass to deal with.
He might be an ass, but he's my ass to deal with.
(It's the start of something beautiful)
It was clear that Runner was beginning to stir, from the light flailing of his arms to the random pulse of magical energy that originated from his body. His captor, however, kept his iron rip as he ran, preventing Runner from freeing himself in his weakened state.
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Frustrated with her inability to catch up because of these damn trees, she snarled and shifted into her battle form, hard scales and strong horns sprouting from a quick burst of Sunfire. She tore through trees and branches, flying as fast as she could. It wasn't like she liked him. It was a matter of pride. And right now, this mystery dude was seriously pissing her off with his blatant disregard for anything besides himself.
"MMmMMMMP-What!?" It was a coherent Runner, and very obviously pissed Runner. "the shit's going on?"
"Oh, shit," the tribesman said, stopping in his place as the half-Fae suddenly morphed into his dragon form.
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Tessa emerged just then as well, a very animalistic growl emitting from her throat as she stared down the tribesman. Her clawed dragon's feet dug into the dirt. Her tail whipped back and forth. "You have one last chance before I send down someone you won't like," she snarled.
(She's got her full, like 200 foot long dragon out, right?)
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(Ah, no. Not enough room. She's in that half-dragon, half-human form. But her dragon side is slipping through a little more than usual. I've also changed it so that during the night, she's about the size of a horse–just a tad taller)
Runner's body twisted angrily around Tess, careful to not block her view of the tribesman as he flew.
"That boy is going to save our entire world!" the man shouted loudly, his face contorted with anger. "DO you want to be responsible for the death of us all?"
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"A simple sacrifice isn't going to do jack shit when the time comes," she retorted. Her dragon was taking most of the control, her voice a strange mix of her normal voice and a growl that of a dragon's. "Agdrin doesn't want a sacrifice–he wants domination. A simple boy isn't going to satisfy his lust for bloodshed and power."
"He PROMISED!" The man shouted. "AND I WILL NOT LET YOU SCREW THIS UP FOR ME AND MY TRIBE!"
He lunged at the two, a knife pulled from the back of his pants. It was ill advised, to say the least.
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Tessa grabbed the man and shoved him against a tree, heavily scaled arm pressed against his throat. "Knives plus dragon scales doesn't turn out very well for you."
The other tribesman were nowhere to be seen. They had abandoned this man at the first sight of Runner's dragon.
"You fools! You will all perish! No one can beat him, NO ONE!"
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"We'll see about that, now won't we?" Tessa wasn't amused, and she was thoroughly done with this place. This man had single-handedly ruined it all. She had another place in mind for them to go, but she wasn't sure if they would be welcomed there.
"Let him go," Runner said, shaking his head slightly. "He's gone insane, and I doubt he's any danger to us anymore."
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Tessa jerked back, letting the man fall to the ground from his sudden release. She managed to wrestle some control back from her dragon. "I know of an alternate place we could lay low at… But I'm not sure they'll let us in."
"I think it would be a bit better than this," he said as the tribesman ran away, dropping the knife mid-step.
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"I dunno. There are at least trees here to keep us hidden…" She looked around skeptically. "But it's worth a shot."
He switched back from his dragon form, wincing as he put a hand on his neck. the dart was still there, so he yanked it out with a yelp. "Motherfucker…"
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Tessa reverted back to her normal human form as well, shaking out the stray bits of twigs and leaves from her hair. "Think you can portal us to Sarreque?"
He nodded, his face clenched up in a grimace. "Yeah…I think?"
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She gave him a flat look. "You can't, can you?"
